


You Are My Escape

by thatgirlwholaughsalot



Category: Hunger Games Series - All Media Types, Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-18
Updated: 2017-04-27
Packaged: 2018-04-04 22:59:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,150
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4156176
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatgirlwholaughsalot/pseuds/thatgirlwholaughsalot
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Peeta is a divorced bakery owner, and Katniss has demons of her own. Will they find solace in each other?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Peeta Mellark is taking inventory of the baked goods in display cases when he hears the bell chime of the door.

He doesn’t need to look up to know who it is- she’s the only one in the bakery at 5 a.m. Technically, the bakery isn’t supposed to be open for another hour, but he isn’t going to tell her that.  

Besides, he’s already here anyways, so he may as well sell her a cup of coffee.

He straightens up and moves to greet her at the register.

He looks into her silvery eyes and is just as struck by her beauty as he was the first time he saw her four months ago.

She flips her dark braid over her shoulder. “One cup of coffee please.”

They both know that the cup of coffee sitting on the counter is hers, but Peeta grabs it anyways. “One cup of coffee- black.”   
She gingerly takes the cup from Peeta, her eyes never leaving his.

“One dollar,” he says, knowing she’s going to give him two and tell him to keep the change- which she does.

It’s their everyday routine. The woman who has been coming in every weekday at 5 a.m without fail goes and sits at her usual table. Despite the fact that she’s wearing white scrubs, Peeta can tell that she has nice legs.

She takes out her laptop from her tote and begins typing furiously, occasionally sipping from her coffee. It is an ordinary Monday morning.   
Of course, Peeta Mellark wishes he could march over there and find out if she’s seeing anyone (she doesn’t wear a wedding ring) or if she is even interested in divorced bakery owners.

Peeta has always been shy when it came to beautiful women, but there’s something special about this one that makes her even harder to talk to.

So, before he can stop himself, he goes over to her table. She looks up from her laptop and raises an eyebrow.   
“Hi,” Peeta says, his hands clammy.

“Hi,” she repeats back to him, a confused look still on her face.

A moment of silence passes between the two of them, and Peeta knows that it is now or never.   
“I’m Peeta… Peeta Mellark,”  he says, knowing an introduction is safe.

“I know,” she intones, “Your nametag says Peeta, and this is Mellark’s Bakery. I put two and two together.”

Peeta’s cheeks flush. Oh great. Now she probably thinks he’s stupid or something too.

“I didn’t come over here to introduce myself,” Peeta clarifies.

“Oh really? Why did you come over here then?” she asks, genuine curiosity creeping into her voice, which takes on a playful tone.   
“You know my name,” Peeta states, “But I don’t know yours.”

A perplexed look crosses her face before she gives him a slight smile, “I’m Katniss… Katniss Crane.”

He sticks out his hand. “Nice to meet you, Katniss Crane.”

She takes it and gives his hand a quick shake- almost formal. “And to you as well, Mr. Mellark.”

Peeta knows that this is not going well, and yet he’s celebrating because 24 hours ago, he didn’t know her name and now he does.

Katniss turns back to her laptop, but Peeta isn’t ready to end the conversation quite yet.

“Will you go on a date with me?” he asks without preamble.    

Katniss’ eyes lock onto his, and she looks confused. Her eyebrows are furrowed, and she bites her lip.

“Date?”

“Oh my God,” Peeta says, thinking of ways to get out of this situation as quickly as possible, “I’m so sorry. You’re probably attached. Dating. Engaged. Married. I’ll just go back to behind the counter now.”

He begins to move away from her, but he finds that she’s grabbed his hand in hers, effectively keeping him there.

“You want to go out on a date with me?” she asks, quieter this time- silvery eyes locked on his.

Peeta turns and smiles sheepishly, shrugging. “Well, yeah. From the time you walked into the bakery for the first time actually.”

She releases his hand. “Sit,” she states.

So he does. She closes the laptop, and his eyes bore into hers.  
  
“So, you know I own a bakery, and you wear scrubs. What do you do?” he asks, “Doctor? EMT? Nurse?”

“Nurse,” she says, twirling her braid with her index finger.

“And I’m a baker,” Peeta replies playfully, which gets a smile out of Katniss.

There’s a minute of awkward silence of Peeta and Katniss staring at each other before Peeta breaks it.

“I’m sorry,” he says, “I’m new to this kind of small talk.”

He laughs a little.

“You’re a baker,” Katniss replies, her grey eyes sparkling, “I’m sure you have this kind of small talk with customers every day.”

Peeta shakes his head, “No. This is different. I’ve only ever really dated one woman, and we’re been divorced for about four years now. I guess I don’t know how to get an attractive woman to like me.”

Peeta groans internally as soon as the last sentence came out of his mouth. How self-deprecating! Now she probably thought he had all kinds of self-esteem issues (which he did). Although he didn’t want her to know that.  

Her nose crinkles, “Attractive?” she asks.

Peeta stares right into her eyes, “You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. And this is not going well. I’ll just go behind the counter now.”

He moves to get up but Katniss stops him with her hand again. “I’m divorced too,” her voice comes out in a hushed whisper, “And I’ve never really dated anyone but my husband.”

“Really?” Peeta asks, genuinely curious.

“Yeah,” Katniss says, shrugging,

She doesn’t say anything more than that.

“So… Nursing,” Peeta begins awkwardly, “What unit are you in?”

Katniss smiles, “Pediatrics.”

Peeta’s eyes light up. “So you like children?”

He wasn’t sure why this delights him. He doesn’t even have custody of Lena.

Katniss nods slowly. “I’m a mother. Of course I like children.”

This changes everything in Peeta’s eyes. He whips out his wallet and shows Katniss picture after picture of Lena. She smiles politely and nods before saying, “She looks exactly like you.”

Peeta blinks down at the picture. He still sees all the Delly in his blonde-haired, blue-eyed daughter and the betrayal still stings, but he looks up to see the beautiful woman across the table smirking at him and knows that she meant it, so he thanks her and asks to see pictures of her children.

She shakes her head and says that she doesn’t have any pictures of all her children together.  She bites her lip and carefully adds, “And I will go out with you if you want.”

Peeta’s heart leapt. Of course he wanted to go on a date with her!

 “Oh my goodness!” Katniss says, looking at her watch, “I’m going to be late for work!”

He watches as she gathers up all her belongings.

She’s beautifully flustered, and Peeta finds himself amazed.

“Can I have your number?” he asks her.

She shakes her head softly, “I don’t have a phone.”

This is puzzling to Peeta because everyone he knows has a cell phone- even his crazy technology-despising mother.

She plays with the handle on the tote and bites her lip. “I’ll be back tomorrow.”

And then she’s gone. Peeta goes back to baking, daydreaming about the attractive nurse who agreed to go out with him.

* * *

 

Katniss is sipping her tea after a long day’s work. Her laptop is out, but the words won’t come to her. The kids are already tucked in bed.

Gale walks in the room, and even though he walks quietly, she’s retained some skills from their days hunting in the woods on the edge of the Seam.

“Hey Catnip,” he says softly, “Kids in bed?” he asks.

She turns her head towards him as he takes a seat across from her and nods softly.

“You can’t protect me forever, Gale,” she states, stirring her tea with a spoon.

Gale sighs loudly, “I would if I could, Catnip. You know you can’t leave yet.”

“I have to,” Katniss says, her voice shaky, “Gale, I can’t rely on your generosity anymore. You and Madge have to let me move out sometime.”

Gale shakes his head vehemently. “No way. Do you know how much our marriage has improved since you started living here? Since the kids started living here?” 

Katniss looks deep into Gale’s grey eyes- so similar to her own, and she knows that he is right. “I can’t stay here anymore Gale. It’s been almost a year.”

“Madge can’t have kids,” Gale bursts out, a last-ditch attempt to get her to stay, “She’s been so much happier since they started living here.”

Katniss already knows this. Madge and Gale have been married for almost six years now- she’s seen the pain in her eyes as she sees Katniss with her children.

She shakes her head. “Gale, you’ve got to let me go. You have a wife now. Things are different.”

Gale’s eyes flare with a passion behind them and he says very softly, “Sometimes I wonder what would have happened between us if you weren’t reaped.”  

Katniss sets down her tea on the kitchen table and sighs, “Yeah, well I wasn’t. My sister was.”

He leans over the table and covers her hand with this. “Would we have gotten married?” he asks.

Katniss sighs and pulls her hand away from his, “Probably. It doesn’t matter now.”

Gale relents. “I guess it doesn’t. When are you moving out?”

She shrugs. “I can at least start looking for my own place. I want to stay in the area and keep my job.”

He nods, understanding. “Madge and I will help you.”

Katniss shakes her head. “I can do it on my own, but you and Madge can do me another favor.”

He quirks an eyebrow, and she smiles.

“I’m going out on a date,” she whispers, a hint of hope creeping into her voice.

Gale freezes, “Are you sure this is a good idea?”

Katniss shrugs, “Probably not. I’m almost thirty-three, Gale. I figure I should probably experience normal life.”

He snorts. “Katniss, your life will never be normal.”

She smirks, “Probably not. Still, having a hint of normal in my life couldn’t hurt.”

Gale smiles genuinely at her. “I’m happy for you, Catnip. I hope you find what you’re looking for. When is this date?”

Katniss shrugs, “Probably this weekend. I’ll see him tomorrow. Think you and Madge can watch the kids for a couple hours?”

Gale smiles and nods, even though his smile has a hint of sadness before getting up and leaving the kitchen.

She continues sipping her tea. When the stocky, fair-haired baker sat down with her this morning, she never imagined she’d go out on a date with him.

She turns towards the staircase where Gale left. Peeta was attractive. Funny. And if one date with him got Gale over his lingering feelings for her completely, it would be worth it.  

Her heart skips a beat at the thought of his charming smile, but she quells the emotion.  

She couldn’t afford a relationship now- not by a longshot.

She goes back to typing on the keyboard before hearing a voice.

“Mom?”

Katniss turns towards the voice. “Mason.”

Her oldest son lingers in the darkness, but she would’ve recognized the voice and bright blue eyes of her eldest son anywhere.

He moves towards the kitchen, the light shining on his face, exposing the stubble on his face.  He opens a cabinet, retrieving a cup and filling it with water from the tap.

“You couldn’t sleep either?” he asks quietly.

She shakes her head.  Of course she couldn’t. She didn’t even try.

“Is it Lily?” he inquires, fear creeping into his voice.

It’s dim, but Katniss cannot find her voice so she nods.

Mason gulps the glass of water before saying, “Mom, I appreciate everything you’ve ever done for us- even if she doesn’t.”

“She will,” Katniss tells her son hopefully even as he shakes his head.

“Lily is my other half, but she’s delusional,” Mason states coldly, placing the cup in the sink.

Mason moves to go back upstairs but turns towards his mother once more. “Get some sleep, Mom.”

Katniss sends the latest draft to her publisher, closing the laptop, and as she lays her head down to sleep, she already knows she’ll have nightmares of white roses and losing her daughter in them.


	2. Chapter 2

He holds his breath as she enters the bakery. Even from far away he can see the light dusting of natural makeup on her beautiful face, bringing out her eyes, which Peeta suspects may be more silver than grey. Her black hair is braided as usual and the color of her hair almost matches her little black dress, which while long-sleeved, exposes her shoulders.

His vision is so focused on the beautiful woman before him that it almost distracts him from the teenager behind her. At first Peeta thinks the teenager might be a customer and prepares himself to tell him that he's about to close, when the young man extends a hand, introduces himself as Mason Crane, and instructs him to take care of his mother. His _mother_? 

Peeta looks at the light dusting of facial hair on the teenager and the young man's height- he must be at least a foot taller than his mother- and wonders if Katniss is much older than he is considering the age of her son- not that he'd be that surprised considering the fact that she carries herself as a woman who has seen much does. 

Katniss smiles and ruffles the boy's hair a bit before instructing him to study hard at ACT prep and to drive safely. Mason nods once more at Peeta before leaving the bakery.  
The beauty before him blushes a bit before mumbling, "My son and I needed to carpool."

"I could've picked you up," Peeta offers, locking up the register at the same time.

Katniss shakes her head slightly, a small smile on her face as she tells him that there wasn't a need although she'd appreciate it very much if he could drop her off.

Peeta tells her he wasn't expecting her so early and gestures towards a table for her to take a seat while he finishes cleaning up. She didn't bring her laptop this time and wastes no time drifting into a reverie, staring off into the distance. Peeta takes twice as long to clean up the bakery due to the distraction sitting in the chair nearby.

About ten minutes later, he places his hand on her shoulder, startling her.

He can't help but chuckle for a bit. "Did I startle you?"

Her silver eyes sparkle, "Just a bit."

"Are you ready to go?" he asks.

She adjusts her purse, standing up. For a minute, Peeta is struck by how short she is. He'd always been stocky, but he's never been tall. Even so, she's at least half a foot shorter than he is. He takes her much smaller hand in his, and they depart. 

He opens the door of the delivery truck for her, and she thanks him before buckling her seat belt, looking nervous.

She jumps when he starts the truck. "Sorry," he mutters.

Enough uncomfortable silence passes for Peeta, and he knows that she probably isn't enough of a talker to start a conversation. "How old are you?" he asks. 

"I'll be thirty-three next month," she says quietly. 

"Your son must be in his teens. Were you a teen mom?" he asks, concern filling his impossibly blue eyes.

Katniss shakes her head at first, "No."

Then she considers something for a moment, shrugging her head, "Sort of. I married a month after my 16th birthday. He was born just before I turned 17." 

"That's really young," Peeta comments, noting her clenched teeth. Her past marriage must be a sore spot for her.

Katniss continues to stare out the window in complete silence, and Peeta finds his frustration building.

"I've been looking forward to this date for a while, and you don't even want to be here."

Katniss' head snaps to face him and her silver eyes meet his. "What makes you say that?"

"You keep staring out the window like you don't want to talk to me. Look, do you just want me to drop you off?" 

She shakes her head slowly. "Sorry, it's just my first time leaving the kids at home with a friend of the family. I can't imagine the havoc they've gotten into already." 

Peeta gets the feeling that isn't the case- that something else entirely is bothering her, but he doesn't push. 

"Besides, I'm not very good at friends or talking," she says softly. 

"What's your favorite color?" he asks her. 

"Green. And yours?" 

The color green reminds him of her- he pictures a mysterious forest. 

"Orange." 

She wrinkles her nose in distaste, which makes him laugh. "Not like cheeto orange. More muted, like the sunset," he explains. 

And just like that, she smiles at him. Warm and almost open. 

Conversation flows much easier after that. He learns that she isn't originally from the area only having moved here last year. 

"I left my husband," she says, "And most of the people I loved too." This is said in a whisper. 

"You don't keep in contact with them?" he's startled by this admission. 

"No phone remember?" she deadpans. 

And just like that, he's laughing. "But seriously though, my ex doesn't have a phone and neither does any of my family. We communicate through letters every so often, but it's hard to get mail to them." 

He pictures her family and ex-husband living out in the middle of cabins in the forests. Very anti-technology. 

In return, he tells her about the custody battle he fought and lost. She nods in understanding. "I'm going through one right now actually," she says. 

He asks her about it further. She doesn't give much information- only bits and pieces. "My oldest daughter would much prefer to live with her father," she sighs, "They were always so close. My other children barely saw him even when they lived under the same roof." 

Throughout the car ride, they talk about these things. The past and the future. Inconsequential things like favorite colors.  

When they arrive at the restaurant, Peeta turns off the car and opens the passenger door for her. She surprises him by lacing her hand in his and leads him inside.  

It's a somewhat nice restaurant, and Peeta pulls out the chair for her. He's surprised to learn that she's never been to a restaurant before. Katniss Crane sure is an enigma. At the end of their meal right as they're about to leave, a young woman comes up to her. Tall with long blonde hair and a smile. Peeta's almost sure he hears her mutter an "oh no" under her breath.

"Well if that's not a face I thought I'd ever see again!" the woman says, "Katniss Crane, what are you doing here?" 

"I'm on a date," she intones, unamused. 

"No, I mean here. I thought for sure you'd be back at-" 

Katniss quickly cuts the woman off. "I left Seneca a year ago."

The woman's eyes widen. "No way. I didn't even think that was possible."

For the first time, the visitor notices him. "Sorry. Glimmer Addams," she says, reaching out a hand to him.

"Peeta Mellark," he says back.

Glimmer turns towards Katniss once more. "There are a bunch of us in the area who left the Mockingjays. Is Prim here with you?"

"No," Katniss whispers sadly, "She's not. She's back there."

Glimmer shakes her head. "Why wouldn't she come with you?" 

Katniss shrugs. "She's happy there."

Glimmer snorts, "No one could be happy there." 

Katniss grimaces. Clearly this whole situation has made her uncomfortable.

Glimmer pulls a card out of her purse and hands it to Katniss, who takes it, clenching it in her hands.

"Call me if you ever need anything, okay? I was barely out of high school when I left. Adjusting is hard."

And just like that, Glimmer walks away. Peeta hears Katniss breathe a sigh of relief.  

She turns to him, frowning, "Please don't ask me about that." 

So he doesn't. They walk back to the car in silence. 

When he drops her off, he's almost surprised by the size of her house. A two story, and he can tell from the outside that it must have at least six or seven bedrooms. Much larger than the apartment above the bakery. Maybe that's why she's never been to a restaurant. Her property taxes must be outrageous. 

Peeta walks her up to the door. 

"I had a great time tonight," he tells her honestly. 

"So did I," she whispers back. 

He takes her hand in his. He wants to kiss her, but she seems a little skittish. 

A man emerges from the door. Tall- much taller than Peeta- with the same grey eyes as her. Same tan skin and dark hair. He wonders if they're related but from the way his eyes watch her, Peeta can tell that they're not. 

"Thank God you're home," he mutters, "Archer refused to let Madge put him to bed."

Katniss gives him an apologetic smile with a "see you on Monday," opening the door and going outside. 

The handsome stranger extends a hand to Peeta. "Gale Hawthorne," he says, "Katniss and her kids are staying with me. I'm a friend of the family. Thank you for bringing her back safe."

Peeta resists the urge to snort. He gets the feeling Katniss wouldn't appreciate being overprotected like this.

"Look, I know it's none of my damn business, but I really don't think Katniss should be dating right now."  

And something about this irritates Peeta because Katniss knows best about whether or not she should be seeing anyone right now. 

Peeta shakes his head, "She's a big girl. I think she can make that decision for herself." 

"Trust me," Gale shakes his head and murmurs, "You seem like a good guy, but it's a bad idea." 

Peeta would be stupid not to know this. It seems like she has a lot of baggage, but then again, so does he. 

"She's a big girl," Peeta says, "she can make decisions for herself." 

Gale clenches his teeth but nods in understanding. "Don't say I didn't warn you, man. Drive safe."

And like that, Peeta leaves the porch and walks back to his car.

Good idea or bad, he knows that Katniss is someone special- stoic and a little hesitant- but special nonetheless.

If she didn't want to pursue anything, that was fine too. This... thing they had would be her call and her pace. Hope was blooming in his chest though.  

* * *

 

Katniss crept out of Archer's bedroom, shutting the door behind her. 

Gale was leaning against the wall, a frown on his face. 

"You look tense. Got a difficult case coming up?" she inquires. 

He shakes his head. "Did you have a nice time?" 

"Yeah," Katniss answers honestly, "I did." 

"So you like him?" Gale questions. 

"More than I expected to," Katniss states, and it's the truth. 

They talked about life. He was funny and interesting. Best of all, he didn't push her. He seemed like someone who respected her boundaries, and he was handsome and kind. Who wouldn't like Peeta Mellark? 

"This has bad idea written all over it," Gale replies sternly, "End it before you get too invested." 

"I know that," she whispers. Even knowing that, she doesn't want to end it. Not now- possibly not ever. He's so different than her first husband, and he makes her want more. 

"Seneca will use this against you. You really want to lose custody of your kids? Because you're being selfish. You pursue something with this man, you lose custody. The kids go back to Seneca, and Lily gets reaped. Guaranteed."  

"Maybe," she replies, "But I think I have more than enough evidence that I am the best parent for them to stay with."  

Gale shrugs. "If you say so. Just know that I think you're playing with fire."

"How would you know?" she snaps, "You left the day after I got married."

He sighs. "Because I couldn't live under their rules anymore. I wanted to have an education, a normal family, a life."

Then, a whisper, "I want the same things for you, you know."

Katniss sighs, "I know, but when I was with him tonight, it was almost like I was a different person. More normal." 

She knows things will never be normal- not really and not for her, but Gale, as a lawyer, was telling the truth.

Maybe she shouldn't go back to the bakery. No more dates with him. To protect her children and herself.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Seeking beta? Someone to bounce ideas off of and call me out on grammatical errors.


End file.
